Heiress Unmasked: Shaking the World With Geomancy novel Chapter 2487

"No payment necessary," Dalton said calmly. "But the millennium-old corpse soil is a rare treasure, cultivated and guarded by our clan for generations. We can't just hand it over to anyone."

Mike opened his mouth, ready to ask what he needed to do to earn it, but Dalton waved dismissively.

"It's getting late. You've both had a long day, so go rest for now. We'll talk about the corpse soil tomorrow."

There was something odd in the way he said it, but Mike couldn't quite put his finger on it. He turned to Lexie, who looked conflicted.

Her face was pinched in hesitation. Just as she was about to speak, several of the elders, including Dalton and Xenon, shot her warning looks.

With no choice, Lexie and Mike could only give a stiff nod.

They left the wooden lodge in silence, and she led him toward her own place, intent on settling him in first before discussing more.

Mike, who had been trafficked before, followed Lexie through the quiet village.

Suspicious, he couldn't help but ask, "Lexie? Why did all the elders react so weirdly when I brought up the corpse soil? Are you hiding something from me?"

Struck by a sudden thought, he suddenly became alarmed and tentatively asked, "Wait a second… You didn't trick me into coming here just to marry me off, did you? Like some kind of sacrificial husband situation?"

It wouldn't be unheard of. He had heard rumors that certain witchcraft clans had weird customs like that. A corpse-herding family wasn't all that different from a witchcraft clan, now that he thought about it.

Lexie immediately rolled her eyes in an elegant arc. "Sacrificial husband? Puh-lease, dream on."

She then lowered her voice and added, "You don't look half as good as Vinny; you're broke, average-looking, stingy…

"If we really had to marry someone off, I doubt we could even get a penny out of you."

Now that was mean.

It didn't matter that the idea had been all Lexie's. The look on his face clearly said, "You're the bad influence corrupting my precious granddaughter."

Mike felt wrongfully accused. He wanted to defend himself, but Xenon wasn't giving him the chance.

Instead, he furrowed his brows and stated gravely, "After breakfast, go back to town with Brady. There's a job for you."

As he spoke, his eyes shifted toward Mike. "The millennium-old corpse soil is never handed to outsiders lightly. If you want it, you'll have to earn it… Start by working for the clan."

At the word "work", Mike's brain instantly flashed back to the funeral street they passed yesterday.

Did the so-called work mean cremating bodies or hosting funeral rites? He could actually do that. He was an experienced part-timer in this field, after all!

Before he could play along and agree sweetly, Xenon added coldly, "The request came in this morning. They need us to recover and return a lost corpse."